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April 16, 2021
This week in money-in-politics

Pro-impeachment Republicans outraise pro-Trump challengers

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The 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump brought in sizable campaign cash to start the 2022 cycle — and outraised their primary challengers — amid scathing attacks from the former president and his allies.

The GOP lawmakers’ historic Jan. 13 votes made Trump’s second impeachment the most bipartisan in history, but sparked tensions both nationally and in their own districts. Trump has said he will use his leadership PAC to help primary challengers take them down.

House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) raked in about $1.5 million from January through March, far more than she raised in previous years during the same period. Much of that total came from wealthy donors and corporate PACs, while roughly 11 percent came from small donors giving $200 or less.

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** Lawmakers break fundraising records to kick off 2022 cycle
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The 2022 election cycle is already making its way into the history books, with candidates reporting unprecedented fundraising hauls only three months in. In both House and Senate races dating back to 1999, four of the five largest fundraising hauls through the first three months of an election cycle came this year. The extraordinarily early influx of donations indicates that record-breaking political fundraising and spending from the 2018 midterms and the 2020 election is here to stay. In his first fundraising period as majority leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) raised an astonishing $8.3 million from January through March.
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** GOP objectors rake in record Q1 cash
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Republican lawmakers allied with former President Donald Trump continue to report record breaking fundraising hauls ahead of the April 15 deadline. Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) reported raising $3 million and $5.3 million respectively from January through March. The two were the first senators to advocate against certifying President Joe Biden’s election in January. Neither faces re-election until 2024, making their early 2021 sums all the more noteworthy. They’re not missing the support of corporations that chose to pause their PAC contributions to lawmakers who questioned the results of the presidential election.
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** Warnock and Kelly get fundraising head start ahead of 2022

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First-year senators who helped Democrats secure their razor-thin Senate majority — and will be key to holding onto it — are raising big money as they prepare for tough 2022 reelection battles. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) raised $5.7 million from early January through March, his campaign told the Atlanta Journal Constitution Thursday. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) raised nearly $4.4 million during the first quarter of 2021, the Associated Press reported. That’s even more than the freshman Democrats raised shortly after they launched their Senate campaigns in the extraordinarily expensive 2020 cycle.
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Joint report: Lobbyists raked in COVID-19 contracts

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Just 6 percent of the companies that received COVID-related contracts lobbied the federal government in 2020, but they received more than half of the money that was awarded to combat the pandemic, $19.4 billion, according to a report released by Public Citizen and the Center for Responsive Politics.

“The striking share of COVID dollars that went to contractors who engaged in federal lobbying raises questions about whether the work of professional influencers figured into procurement decisions,” said Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president of Public Citizen. “These findings point to the need for greater oversight to ensure that contracts were issued on the basis of merit, not connections.”

“Findings like these raise larger questions – not only about whether money had undue influence on government contracts during a national crisis, but also whether this happens under normal circumstances,” said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. “To what degree do the billions spent annually on lobbying skew policies and decisions away from the greater good on a systemic level? This study is a good place to start examining that question.”

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OpenSecrets in the News

See our media citations from outlets around the nation this week:

* ** Rep. Greene’s fundraising haul alarms detractors, who warn she represents a dangerous side of American politics (The Washington Post) ([link removed])
“Money offers politicians power and influence; she had a record take. This shows undeniable influence. Her anti-establishment approach to politics is what allowed her to really successfully fundraise, especially off of the January 6th insurrection.” - Sheila Krumholz, OpenSecrets executive director.

* ** Wall St made record $2.9B political contributions in 2019-2020 cycle: Here's who received donations (Fox Business) ([link removed])
Of the approximately $990 million that financial-sector individuals and entities spent on party-specific contributions, 53% went to Democrats and 47% went to Republicans.

* ** Business faces tricky path navigating post-Trump politics (The Associated Press) ([link removed])
The ties between the Republican party and corporate America continue to fray, even with Trump out of the White House.

** CNBC ([link removed])

** Roll Call ([link removed])

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** USA Today ([link removed])

** Politico ([link removed])

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** San Antonio Express-News ([link removed])

** Colorado Politics ([link removed])

** The Toledo Blade ([link removed])

** El Tiempo Latino ([link removed])

** Grist ([link removed])

** Automotive News ([link removed])



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